Fall Classic Game 7 Draws 51 Million Viewers In the US, Canada and Japanese Regions.
The thrilling 11-inning clash that saw the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million watchers in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. Major League Baseball announced this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
The Saturday memorable contest drew 27.33M viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 was eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth place.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English program in the country since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match series drew 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on Univision, the total American viewership reached over 16 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason performance since 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
